NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) Receives $74.75 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NRG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NRG Energy in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NRG Energy from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Transactions at NRG Energy

In other NRG Energy news, insider Rasesh M. Patel sold 102,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $8,244,151.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,688. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $217,671,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its stake in NRG Energy by 253.2% during the first quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,766,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,541,000 after buying an additional 1,266,000 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy in the first quarter worth $64,306,000. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NRG Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,773,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,596,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,318,000 after acquiring an additional 633,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NRG Energy stock opened at $94.05 on Tuesday. NRG Energy has a 52-week low of $36.61 and a 52-week high of $94.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $1.82. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 43.69% and a net margin of 7.19%. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NRG Energy will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 23.09%.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.